Anxiety about the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is quite understandable-it is at present an incurable disease with an ominous prognosis. Although relatively rare (approximately 11000 cases) the link with homosexuality, the poor survival rate and misconceptions about its transmission have caused mass media panic. Headlines such as ‘Nurses refuse to look after gays’, ‘AIDS-ambulance men ban kiss of life’, ‘A million will have AIDS in six years’ provoked massive public, and now professional, concern. Latest research, however, indicates that AIDS is rarely found outside the established high risk groups and these patients deserve not only our professional help but also our sympathy and understanding.